I Might Have A Problem...

[rat.queen]

My two rats are at the moment 11-12 weeks and just earlier in the day i realized that one of them(the smaller one of the two) seems to be constantly hunched. When he runs he hops more than actually runs. His brother seems to be perfectly fine. I'm starting to get concerned. After all he isn't showing any signs of sickness, He eats fine and has no problem drinking. He for all intensive purposes he acts like any normal rat his age. I called a medical question hotline a few minutes ago and i was told that it might- MIGHT- be a respiratory infection. Does anyone have any thoughts on whats happening to my rat?

Thanks.

 

[MomRat]

Respiratory illness is most commonly diagnosed through wet sounding sneezes, and congestion in the chest(put him up to your ear to listen). Does he have any of those symptoms? You say he is eating fine - is he going to the bathroom well? Increased back arching and reluctance to move are both on the list of signs of pain in rats(Link) But I'm not sure what could be causing it. Can you get a pic, or even better, a video of his behaviour to post on here? It will help everyone better see what's up with your little buddy.

 

[Joanne]

Ditto - hunched makes me think pain/sore belly. Is he pooping OK? How does his belly feel if you palpate it? Soft and squishy? Or hard and lumpy? Does he protest when you touch a certain spot? How long have you noticed this behaviour?

 

[jorats]

Could it be that he's popcorning all the time? What a rat hops about a lot, they do have a different posture.
If you are very concerned you could bring him in for a vet check.